A very nice surprise

Have you ever thought that you knew someone, but didn't realize how special they really are until they do something? That's what happened to us.

I don't remember if I've written in my blog about Big Machine. It's a band that we were introduced to (we as in Rick and I) through Rick's old boss, Doug. Doug's the drummer; Ed's the lead singer/guitar; Duane is the bass/backup singer; and, either Kerry or Sean will be the lead guitar/backup vocals. Kerry wasn't there when we met them the first time. We met them, got to know them and their music, and now they're friends. Not to mention that after the first night, I did their website *Grin* http://www.bigmachine.ca is where you can go to see it.

Anyway, getting closer to my point.... Ed's bought me a few drinks, for doing updates on the page (I didn't charge them much, as they do the band for "shits and giggles"), and paid for a dinner meeting etc... but mostly he's just a really nice guy. We've tried to go to as many gigs of theirs that we can. The last one that we went to was in March in Burlington. Sean was there. Before that, was in January, and we saw Kerry. When Rick got laid off in April, we didn't have the money to be able to go before this past weekend. We budgeted it out of what we had left and went to the Piper in Ajax to see them play.

We got there somewhere between 8:30 and 9pm. The pub wasn't too busy, but as we walked in, Ed was just starting to bring in his gear. He was the first one there. I've never seen him so happy! A gorgeous grin just split his face when he saw us. He put his stuff down, give Rick a HUGE handshake and I got a great big hug. He was soo happy to see us. Kerry and Doug showed up after a little bit, and Duane was up north so some guy named Tim did the bass. He was OK, actually no, he was pretty good. But he's not Duane. So we hung out when we could, Rick and I ordered dinner, watched a few sets and decided about 12:30am that it was time to go home. So before they started the next set, we said good-bye to Doug, got hugs and handshakes, and I went over to Ed and got his attention.

Me: Hey, Ed... we're going to head out.
Ed: Oh really? (really disappointed) I'm sorry, Vick. Tim doesn't know all our songs, we're trying to figure out what we can play etc... we haven't been able to spend much time with you guys [We were the only people there as "groupies"]
Me: That's OK, we completely understand (put my arm around him and he did to me) I love you, Ed, you're awesome... but I'm tired, and I want to go home.
Ed: laugh, alright
Me: We just have to take care of the bill and we're on our way.
Ed: no, just leave the bill with me, I'll take care of it.
Me: No you won't. (laugh) Thank you, but we can handle it.
Ed: Look, Rick's out of work, I understand and have been there. You guys made the effort to come out tonight and we really appreciate it. I'm taking care of the bill.
Me: Are you sure?
Ed: Yes, definitely.
Me: Then you're telling Rick! (laugh)

So we walked over to Rick, he repeated the conversation, Ed stole the bill from Rick's hand and called over the waitress. He then told her that he's taking care of our bill and to settle up with him at the end of the night. I got another big hug from Ed (he's a hottie, and quite a bit shorter than me, but he's a sweetheart and can really hug!!) a good wishes etc.... and we left. Rick and I, to say it bluntly, were shell-shocked. Both of us couldn't believe that he did that. That gave us extra money for gas and lunch on Sunday (we had family plans to be written about later) and showed us that we had a guardian angel. I sent him a free gift on Facebook when I got home (I tried sending him one that we could pay for, but it only accepts Credit Cards. If they did PayPal, I'd be good!) and I hope he got it. Regardless.... someone, whether God or other people, are watching out for us.

Thank you Ed. Our guardian Angel, Ed Brabanec.